


The Devil Will Win

by zhyixingie



Series: When You Play with the Devil the Devil Will Win [2]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fluff, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, SO FLUFFY, like so much fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 07:53:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11249388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhyixingie/pseuds/zhyixingie
Summary: Yifan couldn’t help falling in love.In which Yifan is a high ranking alpha who falls in love with a lowly beta in a world where nobody wants them.





	The Devil Will Win

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my lovelies <3
> 
> Basically this is just a super fluffy, quick, drabble-y type thing I decided to write as a prequel/sequel to "When You Play with the Devil" but this is Junmyeon/Yifan's story. You also get to see what happened with ChanBaek a little bit but it's focused on KrisHo.
> 
> Again, this is honestly just a drabble cause I ALWAYS write KrisHo as a background relationship in my fics and I never really write ABOUT them so I finally just did it.
> 
> No smut because writing smut takes a ton of effort sorry
> 
> un-beta'd~!
> 
> [follow me on twitter to watch me slowly die every time i try to write a fic?](https://twitter.com/zhyixingie)

               Yifan couldn’t help falling in love.

               As cliché as it was, he believed in the fact that you didn’t pick who you fell for – the universe picked for you.

               Yifan was only ten when he became known as a top alpha by bringing down a buck on his own. He kept his mouth shut about the fact that its back leg was already injured when he found it bleating for help in the middle of the forest. No one needed to know it couldn’t run from him when he raced up, way too loud and childishly, and tore it’s throat out. All he knew was that everyone was going to think he was incredible when he dragged it through into their territory – and he _really_ needed to impress Junmyeon.

               He met the beta when he was seven. The older boy seemed so tall and confident next to him with his soft smile and bright eyes. Yifan couldn’t help trying to puff himself up to look stronger; to show the nine year old that he could protect him just as well as anyone his own age. The look of the other boy laughing, his head tilted back, was ingrained into Yifan’s mind for years to come. He just wanted to see that laughter again – preferably laughing at something _he_ said.

               When he dragged that buck into the clearing where the hunting party had already returned to, he grinned at all the attention the other wolves were giving him. Alphas who towered over him clapped him on the back and whooped out compliments to him, and omegas fluttered their eyelashes at him; but, Yifan was only concerned in seeing whether or not a certain beta had seen his accomplishment.

               There were only three betas in the pack, and then tended to stay together. His eyes immediately found Junmyeon sitting with the other two – even though they were all different ages – and all three were staring at him in shock. Or, well, not _him_ but the beast he had brought back with him. Jin, the beta pretty enough to have been a male omega, leaned over and whispered something to Junmyeon that made him giggle. Yifan wanted to make him giggle. He also didn’t want Jin so close to Junmyeon.

              

Yifan was sixteen when he discovered his feelings were strange.

               “There are so many pretty omegas your age,” his mom had cooed at him, pinching his cheek even though he already towered over the tiny woman. “You’re such a lucky boy to have so many to pick from – and any one of them would be lucky to have you.”

               “Do I have to pick an omega?” He asked, furrowing his thick brows together.

               His mom laughed, a tinkling sound he knew his father thought was adorable, but Yifan had always thought it sounded fake. “Who else would you pick from?” she giggled. “Of course you’ll pick a pretty omega, settle down, and have pups with her,” she nodded.

               “It’s too bad Yifan wasn’t picked to take the male omega as his mate,” Yifan’s big brother sighed from where he was lounging. “Yifan is way stronger than that Chanyeol kid Leader picked – he should get to have the special mate.”

               “Oh shush, we aren’t even supposed to talk about the fact that we know who Leader picked,” his mother waved at him. “Anyways, I’m sure Yifan is happy that he gets to have a girl instead of some boy anyways.”

               “What’s wrong with wanting a boy as a mate?” he questioned.

               “See?” his brother sat up, pointing at him. “He probably agrees the Byun boy is cute!”

               “No,” Yifan scowled. “That kid is annoying.” His brother scowled and laid back down.

               “What other boy would you want as a mate?” his mother asked sharply, staring at him with an expression he only later realized was anger; anger that he would ever ruin her perfect plans for him.

               “Do you like another alpha?” his brother gasped, turning to face him.

               “No,” Yifan snapped at him. “One of the betas.”

               The sound of his mother slamming to her feet made him jump. For such a tiny lady, she sure looked like she could kill him with one swipe. She glared him, and even his brother stayed silent. “You are _not_ going to court one of the betas.”

               “Why not?” Yifan protested, sitting up straighter to glare straight back at her.

               “You are not giving up your life to some worthless wolf,” she spat. “Betas are the scum of this world – they do nothing. They aren’t strong enough to fight or help hunt, and they aren’t nurturing enough to take care of babies. You’re too good for one of them!”

               Yifan was on his feet before he realized it, growling at her. “What about my _feelings_ , huh? What if I _like_ one of the betas? I don’t care about any of the omegas!”

              She slapped him hard across the face, making his brother and him both stare at her in disbelief. Their parents never laid a hand on them. She was breathing heavily and pointed at the door, “leave.”

               “Why?” He asked dumbly.

               “I don’t want to see you right now,” she said sternly. “Come back when you’re ready to be normal.”

               Yifan didn’t return to his home for days, taking to sleeping in the clearing instead. He didn’t understand why his mother would be so mad about him liking a beta. Was it really the fact that they weren’t an omega so couldn’t have pups? Or was it the fact that the only betas in their Pack were males? He couldn’t wrap his brain around why she would be so concerned about his life, when he was just trying to make himself happy.

               It was that summer he realized the _majority_ of their Pack didn’t think it was normal for a boy to have feelings for another boy, not just his mother.

               “If you could kiss anyone in the Pack,” Jongdae giggled as several of them sat by the lake with the moon shining brightly above them. “Who would it be?”

               “Baekhyun,” Jongin piped up immediately.

               “Dude, what the fuck?” Sehun shoved him hard in the shoulder.

               “Hear me out,” Jongin said, putting his hands up in defense. “You gotta wonder – is kissing a guy like kissing a girl?” The other boys all paused, humming to show they acknowledged his point. “He’s some weird boy whose made like an omega! You gotta be curious about that!”

               “Fine,” Jongdae threw a stick at him. “You made your point.”

               “What about you?” Jongin snarled back.

               “Krystal,” Jongdae grinned.

               “Dude!” Jongin whined.

               “I would kiss Taeyeon,” Sehun said, grinning.

               “She’s way too old for you, munchkin,” Kyungsoo said, pressing his fist into Sehun’s head until the younger batted his hand away.

               “I would want to kiss Krystal too,” Yixing said suddenly, always a few seconds late. A blush flushed his cheeks when Jongin glared over at him. “She’s just very pretty.” Jongin huffed and looked away from the other – everyone knew Krystal was Jongin’s first love. He would be the one to court her when they were old enough.

               “What about like, Lisa? Or Jisoo?” Kyungsoo questioned.

               “Sure, they’re pretty,” Jongdae shrugged. His eyes suddenly turned to Yifan, “What about you, big guy?” Yifan just shrugged, playing with the grass by his toes. He didn’t know why he felt so shy around these boys – the majority of them were seasons younger than him, besides Yixing who only trailed him by a year. He was by far the oldest, and therefore, he should feel the most confident talking to them.

               “I think I would wanna kiss Junmyeon,” he shrugged. The looks he got told him that was the wrong answer.

               “I’m sorry,” Jongin tilted his head. “Did you say Junmyeon? As in, the beta guy?”

               “Yeah,” Yifan shrugged.

               “What the fuck?” Jongdae stared at him. “That’s grosser than Baekhyun! At least he’s made to be with an alpha and have pups and stuff.”

               “Yeah dude, kissing a boy beta? That’s nasty,” Sehun said, scrunching up his face.

               “No it’s not,” Yifan said sternly. “You all are just too young – you can like whoever you want to like.”

               “Nuh huh,” Sehun shook his head.

               “Boys are alphas, girls are omegas, and alphas like omegas, and omegas like alphas,” Jongdae listed off, counting it off on his fingers.

               Yixing next to him shifted awkwardly. “I dunno, guys, I don’t think it’s that weird. We shouldn’t make fun of him for it.” Yifan should have known Yixing would be a darling and understand him. He glanced over and saw the red dusting over the other’s face and the nervousness in his hands. Or, maybe, he wasn’t _just_ standing up for Yifan.

               “No, it’s fucking disgusting,” Jongdae said, standing up. “I don’t wanna hang out with a bunch of weirdos.” With cries of ‘yeah’ and ‘let’s leave,’ soon Yifan and Yixing were left alone in the clearing exchanging glances.

               “I don’t think it’s gross,” Yixing said again. Yifan hmphed in acknowledgement. “Do you,” the younger began, “do you have a crush on Junmyeon?”

               Yifan looked over at him and nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

               “Are you going to court him?” The smaller asked.

               Yifan nodded again, “I want to.”

               “We’re both leaving soon,” Yixing hummed, looking down at his hands. “So, you should do it soon, before it’s too late.”

               Yixing was right. Although he was lucky to get to wait so many years before leaving (unlike a few unfortunate souls who left when they were basically still pups), Yifan had already been scouted, after the whole buck incident, to join the wolves who were training up in the mountains when he turned seventeen. He only had one more season until then – and who knows when he would be back after he left?

               It was that autumn that alphas began courting omegas.

               Hormones were running rampant among the fifteen, sixteen and seventeen year olds of the Pack and it seemed that every day brought a new drama to Yifan’s ears. Jongin had apparently tried actually courting the omega boy to try to get his kiss, but had ended up being yelled at by the Leader for his trouble. Jongdae tried to court two omegas at the same time, while Kyungsoo sat around doing absolutely nothing and had females falling over him trying to impress him. Also, in the midst of all this, Jin left.

               “He left?” Yifan blinked when Sehun told him. “What do you mean?”

               “Like,” Sehun sighed in annoyance, “he’s gone, bye, outta here, never gonna see him again.”

               “Where did he go?” Yifan questioned.

               “To an all-beta pack,” Sehun shrugged. “Betas never last long in alpha-omega packs, so no one is very surprised.”

               Yifan’s stomach turned to knots.

               Junmyeon looked down for weeks without his friend by his side. Yifan’s heart ached to make him smile again.

               He decided to finally bite the bullet on a particularly chilly autumn day. The hunting party had already left, complaining that they couldn’t possibly find anything in this cold, and Yifan had his plan set. He didn’t care if his mother would get mad at him, or the other boys would think him strange – he was going to court Junmyeon. But, he knew the beta wasn’t going to be impressed with simple alpha antics. Unlike the other boys who simply caught something during a hunt to impress the females, or show the omegas how strong they were by tussling with another alpha; Yifan knew better than that, he knew Junmyeon would just roll his eyes and brush off any sort of alpha macho.

               Yifan wandered out into the woods to begin his search.

              

               Junmyeon was just sitting down with Yoongi, the last of the other betas, to eat when Yifan appeared at the edge of the clearing. Junmyeon was chatting simply with the little blonde beta who was considering following Jin to the other pack. Junmyeon just smiled sadly and nodded – he always wanted to be supportive of his friends.

               No one else was sat near the two, as usual. People tended to stay far away from the betas, as though they had a disease rather than specific hormones that allowed them to have kids or produce a knot. Yifan rustled slightly in anger at their treatment, but tried to level his head and calm his breathing for what he was about to do.

               He held his hands behind his back as he walked through the clearing, ignoring all the other wolves he past, until he was standing directly in front of the little light colored boy. Junmyeon squinted up at him, obviously confused and slightly afraid that he did something wrong to get an alpha to approach him. Yifan cleared his throat awkwardly, “Kim Junmyeon?”

               “Yes?” The smaller said with a question mark at the end, obviously baffled.

               “I’m Wu Yifan,” he said calmly. The little blonde beta giggled and Junmyeon just smiled at him.

               “Yes, I know who you are,” he nodded.

               “I,” Yifan trailed off when his voice cracked, so he cleared his throat again before speaking. “I… like you a lot, Junmyeon,” he said slowly, watching the confusion deepen on the other’s face. Yifan slowly brought out his hands that were fisting a large assortment of wild flowers he had to dig through the forest to find. He had tried to find the brightest, most colorful ones – ones that the smaller boy would think were pretty. “I was hoping… hoping to be able to court you until I leave for my training,” Yifan finished, feeling slightly lame with his arms extended with the bunch of flowers and Junmyeon just staring at him with his jaw hanging open.

               “Oh my god,” Yifan heard Yoongi gasp, but he kept his eyes solely on Junmyeon’s face which seemed to be struggling to figure out how he felt. After several seconds of staring at the (slightly wilted) flowers in the alpha’s hands, his face broke out in a smile. The beta stood, making Yifan realize just how much taller than him he was. Even though the other boy was already a whole year into adulthood, while Yifan was still consdiered a pup, he was already towering over him so that the beta only hit his shoulder.

              Slowly, Junmyeon reached out and gripped the stems of the flowers around Yifan’s own hands. He leaned forward and sniffed them deeply. “Alstroemeria,” the beta sighed happily. He looked up at Yifan with a larger smile, “the flowers of devotion.”

               Yifan couldn’t help the flush that crawled up his neck as he sputtered. He had no idea what the flowers even were when he picked them, let alone what they apparently symbolized. “I just… I thought – I thought they were pretty and that you would like them, I didn’t mean to be creepy or something-”

               Junmyeon laughed. Somehow, with just a simple task Yifan had managed to make the smaller smile and laugh all within just a few moments. “They’re beautiful,” he hummed, taking them happily. He looked up at Yifan sheepishly. “But why would you want to court me?”

               “Because _you’re_ beautiful,” Yifan blurted out. “Just like the flowers,” he tacked on quietly at the end when the other just stared at him in surprise.

               Junmyeon just tilted his head back and laughed.

               That was all the encouragement Yifan needed.

 

               Yifan’s courting of Junmyeon wasn’t traditional by any means. He never appeared at the beta’s house with a fresh kill to show that he could feed his mate, nor did he ever try to show his strength, nor did he ever show his jealousy when Junmyeon chatted with other wolves. He never tried to show how tough he was by growling at the beta, and he never even tried to touch him like the other alphas who liked to wrap a possessive arm around the omega they were courting. Instead, Yifan put all his energy into spending as much time as possible with the beta.

               When Yifan wasn’t needed to help the Pack, he would find Junmyeon and the two of them would simply enjoy the company of the other. They would mostly go on walks together. Before the chill and snow came, they would search for more of the flowers Yifan had first given to Junmyeon. The beta, though, even after the seasons passed, was still unsure of Yifan.

               “I just don’t understand,” the beta said sadly as the two of them sat close together for warmth. “I don’t understand why you would like _me_ ,” he sighed. “I’m so boring and average. I’m not strong, I’m not helpful, I can barely do anything to help the Pack without people yelling at me, and I can’t even give you children. Why would you want me out of everyone you could have?”

               Yifan took his chilly hands in his own palms and kissed the knuckles of his fingers. “Because you’re perfect,” he would always answer this way, trying to ingrain it in the boy’s brain. Junmyeon still didn’t look convinced.

               When it came time for Yifan to leave, the two of them didn’t leave each other’s sides. Junmyeon became even more scared of their relationship falling apart. “You’ll forget all about me,” he whimpered from where he had his nose shoved against Yifan’s chest. “You’ll forget about me and move on and never want to talk to me again.”

               Yifan took his face in his hands and stared at him sternly. “Jun,” he said slowly. “I will never move on from you. I’ve loved you for more than ten years now – I’m not going to let a little distance ruin what I’ve worked so hard at.” Junmyeon sniffed sadly and looked away from him.

               Kissing Junmyeon was the most natural thing in the world at that moment. Seeing the boy of his dreams so sad, so unsure, so scared that they wouldn’t stay together while Yifan was away, made the alpha’s heart ache. He wanted to show him exactly how he was feeling, and the only way was to lean forward and connect their lips.

               Yifan had never kissed another person. But, the way Junmyeon’s lips moved against his, he knew that Junmyeon would be the only boy or girl he would ever want to do it with. The beta’s lips were so soft against his own and Yifan never wanted to let them go. His breath left his entire body when he felt Junmyeon pressing back against him, raising his hands to clutch at the front of his shirt, to keep him there just a bit longer.

               When Yifan was actually meant to leave, there were tears.

               “I’ll visit as often as I can,” he hummed against Junmyeon’s hair as he clutched the smaller to his chest. He stroked over the light dirty blonde locks of his hair in comfort as the other sobbed against his chest. He worried about the beta. He knew that others were leaving him alone because they all knew Yifan would kill them if anyone touched him, but with Yifan leaving, he worried Junmyeon would go back to a life of loneliness and people hating him. He knew Junmyeon feared the same.

               “How long are you going to be gone?” The beta sniffled, looking up at Yifan with tear coated eyes.

               “Only four years,” he sighed. “It’s not as long as most people have to go.” That didn’t seem to help the overflow of Junmyeon’s tears that soaked into his shirt.

               And Yifan did visit as often as possible.

               They always got at least one day off each week to rest, and on those days, when no one was watching, he would morph and speed down to the pack and find his soon-to-be-mate. Their time was short together, but it was one of the few things that kept Yifan going during the harsh days of training.

               “I don’t get why you go back so often,” Chanyeol huffed. The Leader’s son was a cocky asshole. The tall, curly haired boy was definitely one of the strongest ones at the camp, but incredibly lazy. Yifan had discovered early on that the tall boy would much rather be playing in the nearby stream or sunbathing on the rocks than actually learning to run the Pack. “You don’t have a mate yet,” Chanyeol said, looking at Yifan’s neck where there would have been a bonding mark.

               “I will have one soon,” Yifan shrugged.

               “You’re real serious about this girl, huh?” Chanyeol raised an eyebrow.

               “Boy,” Yifan correctly sharply. “My mate will be a boy.”

               Chanyeol had stared at him dumbly at that. Yifan just rolled his eyes. It hadn’t seemed to have sunk in to the Leader’s son’s head that he would also be having a boy as a mate.

              

               By the time Yifan was told that he was allowed to return home, with the position of patrol leader given to him, he had just turned twenty one. He and Junmyeon had been officially mated for over two years, and he couldn’t wait to get back to the Pack and spend as much time as possible with the little beta.

               The Leader of course made a grand spectacle of the four returners, mostly because his own son was coming home, and embarrassed the four of them with lengthy introductions that had Yifan rolling his eyes. He appreciated the whooping calls from alphas he had used to spend so much time with, but he wasn’t as concerned with them. Once the Leader had told that goddamn deer story again, Yifan was free to leave his position next to the other returning alphas and into the crowd of wolves standing before them.

               “Yifan.” The alpha turned immediately to the familiar voice and grinned as Junmyeon raced over to him, arms already out to be pulled into a hug. “You’re really here to stay?” the beta mumbled against his ear from where Yifan was crushing him into his chest. He simply nodded and kissed the smaller on the cheek.

               “Of course,” he grinned.

               He could have spent the entire night right there with Junmyeon by his side, his arm wrapped tightly around him, just listening to the beta recount everything that had happened in the months Yifan hadn’t been able to escape from training and come to visit. But, of course, Chanyeol had to ruin everything.

               Junmyeon was in the middle of telling Yifan about the new pup who had been born a beta, and how his mother apparently nearly abandoned the poor child. “I was about to take him,” Junmyeon admitted. “But, she finally agreed to keep him while he still needs her milk.”

               “People around here are disgusting,” Yifan sighed. His Pack was horribly old fashioned, and it pissed him and his mate off to no end. He had suggested leaving several times, but Junmyeon had always shook his head and insisted that Yifan would be Leader one day.

               “There’s nothing you can do, yet,” Junmyeon shrugged. He opened his mouth to say something else when he was interrupted by loud noises of growling and sudden gasps. Yifan turned toward the sound, tightening his grip around his mate, and moved forward in the ring of people that had gathered. It appeared Chanyeol’s little omega had a lot more fight in him than the alpha had given the tiny boy credit for, seeing that he had his alpha pinned to the ground and was growling harshly in his face. Yifan noticed Jongdae and Kyungsoo standing by them looking lost and wondering if they should be interfering. Yifan had been ready to step in when Chanyeol finally flip them over and had the omega whimpering a few moments later.

               “Fucking omega,” Chanyeol huffed as he stomped by Yifan and through the crowd. He watched his friend trail away before glancing back at the petrified omega who was white as a sheet and looking ready to throw up. No one moved to help the kid.

               “Poor Baekhyun,” Junmyeon whispered as the omega took off into the woods. “I feel so bad.”

               “Why?” Yifan questioned, blinking. “I don’t think Chanyeol was too harsh with him just now.”

               “Not just this,” Junmyeon hummed, still staring at where Baekhyun had disappeared. “From what you told me, Chanyeol seems a little… not right for him.”

               “Why not? He’s hot headed and selfish, sure, but he’s a strong alpha,” Yifan shrugged.

               “Baekhyun is…” Junmyeon paused, thinking of the right words. “I think he’s a lot more than just the omega most people think he should be.”

 

               Junmyeon was (of course) proven correct the next spring when the Pack watched as Chanyeol took the lead as the father of their pup while Baekhyun continued working. Yifan had to hand it to them, as fucked up as they seemed in the beginning, they were turning into a pretty perfect couple. Just like Junmyeon had predicted, Baekhyun was not what Yifan had expected him to be. The little omega was much stronger, and had a much better work ethic than any other Yifan had met, and had gone back to working the fields only days after giving birth. While, Chanyeol, somehow, was actually a really good father. The giant alpha would coo loudly at his son as he brought him around the territory, and Yifan had found the pair several times down at the pond with Chanyeol holding the infant in the water and the boy squealing as he kicked his little legs. But, with Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s endeavor into fatherhood, Yifan noticed a new problem arising.

               It was quite obvious Junmyeon was getting envious.

               “Would you mind watching over Eunchan tonight?” Chanyeol asked, holding the squirming child to his shoulder as the baby tried to use him as a jungle gym.

               “Of course, Chanyeol,” Junmyeon said, smiling sweetly up at the brunette. “What’s the occasion?”

               “It’s Baekhyun and my one year,” Chanyeol said, almost proudly. He rubbed his nose against his son’s, “your dad and I have been together a whole year, yes we have!”

               “Wow, congratulations,” Junmyeon said earnestly, standing up from where he had been sitting next to Yifan, eating his dinner. He put his arms out for Eunchan to slide into and held the child to his chest. “We’ll take care of Eunchan no problem.”

               “You’re the best, Jun,” Chanyeol grinned at the beta and waved at Eunchan before taking off.

               “Why’d you agree to that?” Yifan whined, nodding at the child in his mate’s arms.

               “They’re our friends, we should always help them if they need it,” Junmyeon scolded. “Plus, would it kill you to play with a baby?” Yifan stared at Eunchan for a moment – the thing was weird looking, if he was honest; young enough to not be totally human looking, but just old enough for him to see a strange combination of Chanyeol and Baekhyun in his face.

               “Yes,” he decided. “It definitely would.”

               Junmyeon snorted at him and raised the child to look at his face and coo at him about ‘how cute’ he was. Yifan watched as his mate snuggled with the child and slowly began noticing the fact that such a huge thing was missing from their mating. Every other couple their age already had a pup – or two in some cases – and considered having one the ‘beginning of a family.’ Yifan considered himself and Junmyeon very much their own little family, but having Eunchan suddenly on his mate’s lap made him realize a big hole in their lives.

               It also made him notice how obsessed his mate had become in the recent season with pups. The beta was constantly agreeing to look after kids while their moms took naps or ran off to help some other omegas with chores, and Yifan had caught Junmyeon staring at fathers playing with their pups more than a few times. How could he have been so blind?

               “Do you want a baby?” Yifan blurted out a few nights later as they laid in each other’s arms. Junmyeon stalled in his tracing of patterns over Yifan’s bonding mark and glanced up at him.

               “Why?” Junmyeon whispered, answering the question with one of his own.

               “Because we don’t have one,” Yifan said simply. “Everyone else has a pup, but we don’t.”

               “We can’t,” Junmyeon pointed out.

               “Right,” Yifan trailed off. “But… do you want one?”

               His mate stayed silent for several seconds, scooting closer to press his cheek against Yifan’s chest. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “Sometimes I wish I was born an omega.”

               Yifan chuckled, running his fingers through the other’s blondeish locks. “No you don’t,” he laughed. “Have you seen the shit Baekhyun has gone through?”

               Junmyeon smiled without it meeting his eyes. “I suppose,” he shrugged. “But, I would love to have a pup of my own… with you,” he said, looking up at Yifan again. “I wish I could give you one.”

               “Don’t worry about me,” Yifan hummed. “This is about you. You know I don’t care about having a kid – _you_ want one, and don’t say you want one because you think I do.”

               “No, I know,” Junmyeon sighed. “I just wish _we_ could have one.”

               Yifan nodded slowly. “I don’t know how we would,” he said after a moment.

               “Well,” Junmyeon bit his lip. “Remember the beta boy whose mom didn’t want him?” Yifan nodded after a moment. “He passed away a few weeks ago,” Junmyeon said sadly, rubbing at his eye. “She abandoned him in the woods and the hunting party found him the other week. They didn’t tell anyone cause they didn’t think anyone would care about a worthless beta dying – I only heard because Jongin told me.”

               “That’s awful,” Yifan growled, tugging the smaller closer.

               “Yeah,” Junmyeon nodded. “But, I couldn’t help thinking about the fact that he would have lived if I had taken him from her.” Yifan could feel the wetness from Junmyeon’s tears on his chest after a few seconds. “I could have saved him – but I didn’t. Because that doesn’t happen. Because wolves don’t adopt pups that aren’t their own – unwanted pups are just left to die.”

               “So, what does this have to do with wanting a pup?” Yifan asked, rubbing at his mate’s under eyes that were stained with tears.

               “Next time there’s a pup no one wants, I want to adopt it,” Junmyeon said, looking at Yifan sternly. “Next time a beta is born, I want to take it before it can be left to die.”

 

               Betas aren’t born often. They aren’t as rare as boy omegas, but nowhere near as many existed as male alphas or female omegas. Considering not many betas in their Pack stuck around long enough to pass on their genes, it was many pups before another beta was born the next spring.

               Yifan had taken the day off from the patrol, letting Minseok take the lead like he wanted to, to be able to help Junmyeon for the day. The beta used to never want to help their Pack, while Yifan was gone he would even hunt for himself rather than taking any from the Pack’s pile, and would never help with chores or in the garden. But, recently, as the beta has come out of his shell and made new friends, he’s taken to helping around the territory. Today, his task was bringing some of the elderly and pregnant omegas clean water and extra food.

              They were half way through their round when they both jumped out of their skin at the sudden, shrill, ear splitting scream. All the people wandering around at the time turned to stare at the hut the blood curdling screaming was coming from. When no one moved a muscle, of course his mate was the one to take off to go see if something was wrong. Yifan didn’t even have time to question anything before he ran after the beta and skidded into the little hut.

               An omega was the source of the screaming, and her mate was kneeling beside her, trying to calm her down. The baby on her lap was crying, but not loudly enough to be heard over her mother’s screams. “It’s a fucking beta!” The omega shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stared at her mate. “After all this, it’s a goddamn beta! Get rid of it! I don’t want it! I’ll be shunned from this goddamn Pack,” she cried. Her mate stroked over her hair, shushing her softly.

               The girl was completely average. She was born with the tiniest tuft of black hair on the top of her head, chocolate brown eyes, and all the normal parts of an infant. But, Yifan could see the telltale birthmark he had become so familiar with that was the mirror image to his own mate’s. The kidney bean shaped brown splotch on the baby’s skull was the entire reason for her mother’s screams of horror and insistence on her being left to die.

               Junmyeon named her Gyeongeun – insisting she was a baby who should be celebrated, and therefore, her name should reflect it – and he loved her to death.

               “She is going to be the most spoiled baby,” Yifan pointed out as Junmyeon dressed her in a new little smock Taeyeon had given him as a hand-me-down. Yifan couldn’t remember a day that Gyeongeun wasn’t the best dress pup, and she couldn’t even sit up on her own.

               “Yes, she is,” Junmyeon hummed happily.

               Yifan was glad his mate had finally gotten what he wanted, even though it was sometimes a lot more difficult than either of them were expecting. Since they had taken her when she was newly born, they had the struggle of finding an omega to feed her. But, eventually, the women warmed up to the little baby with the birthmark on her head, and took turns on who she would suckle from.

               Yifan was also glad that Gyeongeun had his mate for her father. Of course Yifan helped where he could, and found that the child enjoyed climbing all over him, but he knew that she would never have anyone treat her as well as her adoptive father. Junmyeon showered her with kisses and coos and compliments she couldn’t understand, and made sure she felt just as loved as any other pup. Yifan couldn’t help wondering why things like eye color or a birthmark determined so much within their Pack, considering Gyeongeun seemed just like any other baby to him.

               Yifan had taken to kissing them both of those very marks when he said goodnight. His adopted daughter slept between the two of them, and Yifan would press his lips to her head before moving his mate’s hair out of the way and kissing his mark. “Why do you do that now?” Junmyeon giggled when Yifan kept moving his hair all around, trying to see the full birthmark hidden beneath.

               “Because,” Yifan shrugged. “I’ve discovered that I really love these little birthmarks.”

               “Why?” Junmyeon questioned.

               “Because, I’ve discovered I love betas,” he smiled.

               “Yeah?” Junmyeon raised an eyebrow at him.

               “Mhm,” Yifan hummed. “My two favorite people are betas – so, I assume that means I can say I love all betas.” Junmyeon laughed and touched his finger tip to his mate’s nose.

               “You’re a dork,” the beta giggled. Yifan shrugged and leaned over to kiss his skull again. “Go to bed,” Junmeyon yawned. Yifan nodded and looked down at Gyeongeun who was fast asleep. He smiled softly and kissed her chubby cheek before pulling her closer into his warmth to sleep.

               Yifan was seven when he had first fallen in love with a beta.

And he was twenty two when he fell in love with another.

**Author's Note:**

> comment/critiques and kudos are always appreciated <3


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